The decline of youth clubs has been a growing concern in Ireland and abroad since the pandemic. Eithne Stembridge, from Limerick Youth Service, explains that this is largely due to the lack of adult volunteers following COVID-19.
“Covid had a massive impact on clubs, they have struggled to get back because the volunteers are not there,” she explained. “The young people want the clubs, but the volunteers are not there.”
Eithne says that she feels there is a need for clubs. Teens themselves, she notes, still want them, but they are struggling to make up adult staffing numbers.
“So yes, we are still getting young people going in, there is still place for it, the fact that we still have young people attending. The problem is, it’s getting the volunteers on board to support it.”
Her passion for working with adolescents is apparent, as they are a group who, by her own account, are sometimes forgotten when contrasted with younger children.
“Parents seem to be more willing to be involved when the young people are in primary school. Once they go onto secondary school, it becomes different,” she acknowledged. “There is a struggle to get them involved.”
Eithne has taken an adaptive approach to the technological dependence of today’s teens.
“That’s interesting,” she remarked, “in the sense that a lot of clubs always ask in induction training, ‘What do we do with the mobile phones?’ And I always say, the mobile phone is part of every young person now. It’s another – it’s like having a limb, part of a limb. So, it’s very important that they’re allowed to have their phone.”
The Youth Information Officer, Dermot Troy, has observed that teens need the support of youth clubs now more than ever.
“I’ve seen in 10 years here a change,” he admitted. “The young people are quieter, more into themselves, to be honest with you. And the challenges are there, but quite different.”
Covid-19 did not just impact the amount of volunteers taking part in youth programmes. Inevitably, it has influenced the development of the children who grew up during the pandemic, an observation of which Eithne is in agreement.
“Young people since COVID, have changed,” Eithne shares. “They’ve become, as Dermot is saying there, quieter. They’re super self aware, their resilience might not be 100%. Mental health is, for quite a few young people, a massive issue. But when you’re looking at our projects, we are skilled to deal with young people.”
Providing space for older children to socialise in a safe, monitored environment has never been more important. Without a space for well-trained, enthusiastic staff to run the clubs, they will be unable to function. Therefore, it is crucial that more awareness is raised of the lack of volunteers in youth work today.